Catcher&#39;s mitt.



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GATCHERS MITT.

(Application filed Feb. 7, 1399.)

(No Model.)

, UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

` .IASON F. DRAPER, OF ASHLAND, NEW HAMPSHIRE, ASSIGNOR TO THE DRAPER & MAYNARD COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE. l

cATcHl-:Rs MITT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 627,687, dated June 27, 1899.

Application filed February '7, 1899. Serial No. 704,851. (No model.)

To all whom it may 0071.067471,.-

Be it known that I, JAsoN F. DEAPER, of Ashland, in the county of Grafton and State of New Hampshire, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Catchers Mitts, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to mitts or gloves for base-ball catchers, in whichthe thumb and palm portions are connected across and drawn together to form a hollow for' the reception of the ball. Heretofore the connections between palm and thumb in mitts of this kind have been made adjustable and have been somewhat unsatisfactory in operation, complicating the construction .of the mitt, besides adding considerably to the cost of manufacture.

The object of the present invention is to overcome the objectionable features existing heretofore in mitts of the character specified by the provision of an improved permanent connection between the thumb and palm portions of a mitt or glove to render the same stronger to withstand the blow from a ball received in the hollow above referred to; and to this end the invention consists in the novel features of construction and arrangement hereinafter fully described and claimed.

Of the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, Figure l represents a View of the palm side of a mitt constructed in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 represents an enlarged detail section taken in the plane of the mitt through the cleft between palm and thumb portions. Fig. 3 represents a detail section through portions on the line 3 3 of Fig. 2.

The same reference characters indicate the same parts in all the iigures.

terial, such as rubber vulcanized with alternate layers of cloth, and they are secured to the edge cover-strip f2 by means of rivets.

The palm and thumb portions a b of the mitt, which would normally be separated or spread apart a greater or less distance, are in accordance with myinvention drawn and held close together in the manner shown in Figs. I and 2 by a permanent fastening, which may take the form of a strapd, secured to the palm and thumb portions a l) across the ends thereof by means of rivets e' e', which pass through the strap d, edge cover-strip f2, and stiffening-stripsg g. This connection makes a hollow in the mitt in frontof the cleft between the thumb and palm portions, such hollow, as is well known, greatly aiding the catcher in holding the ball when it strikes the mitt. The palm and'thumb portions a b are in accordance with my invention also attached by a permanent connection in the cleft, asindicated in Figs. 2 and 3. This connection may comprise two independent flaps of leather c c, sewed along their front edges by stitching c c' to the cover of the mitt and secured iiatwise to each other just behind said stitching by a permanent fastening, such as the rivets c c2, thus bringing the palm and thumb portions close together. I may of course employ other means of fastening ,the flaps c c to the mitt and to each other; but the method shown is desirable, as it permits the flaps to be sewed in place early in the manufacture of the mitt and afterward connected by a simple operation.

The flaps c c when connected aid the'connection across the outer edge portions in holding the palm and thumb portions together and also prevent the passage of the ball too'far into the cleft.

I clainr-V l j 1. A catchers mitt having the palm and thumb portions secured close together by a permanent connection, said connection including independent flaps secured tosaid palm and thumb portions, and a permanent fastening securing said iiaps fiatwise to each other.V

2. A catchers mitt having a permanent connection between the palm and thumb por- IOO rivets e' e' passing through the strap d and edge strips g g and serving to permanently secure said strap to the palm and thumb portions.

In testimony whereof I have alixed my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JASON F. DRAPER.

Witnesses JOHN F. MAYNA'RD, C. F. BROWN. 

